Question

How are the effects of a sexual assault similar to those of other traumatic events? What psychological effects experienced by many rape victims are the same as those manifested by veterans of combat or by survivors of natural disasters, terrorist attacks, or other traumas? Are these effects unique when the sexual offender is someone close to the victim?

Answer 1

After sexual assault or rape, survivors can face extremely difficult and painful emotions and experiences. Every survivor responds to traumatic events in their own way. The effects of the trauma can be short-term or can last long after the sexual assault or rape. There can be physical effects, mental effects and emotional effects. The physical effects of sexual assault may be different from other traumatic effects which may include Bruising, Bleeding (vaginal or anal), Difficulty walking, Soreness, Broken or dislocated bones, Sexually transmitted infections and diseases, Pregnancy.

Sexual assault is one of the most traumatic experiences that women can face. Shock and denial shortly after the event is a normal reaction. Shock and denial are often used to protect oneself from the emotional impact of the event. Once you have moved past the initial shock, responses to a traumatic event may vary. Psychological effects experienced by many rape victims are the same as those manifested by veterans of combat or by survivors of natural disasters, terrorist attacks, or other traumas. Common responses may include irritability, sudden, dramatic mood changes, anxiety and nervousness, anger, depression, flashbacks or repeated memories of the event, difficulty concentrating, altered sleeping or insomnia, changes in appetite, intense fear that the traumatic event will recur, particularly around anniversaries of the event (or when going back to the scene of the original event), withdrawal and isolation from day-to-day activities, physical symptoms of stress, such as headaches and nausea, worsening of an existing medical condition.

A condition known as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can sometimes occur after you experience a life-threatening event or witness a death. PTSD is a type of anxiety disorder that affects stress hormones and changes the body’s response to stress. People with this disorder require strong social support and on-going therapy.

The effects may not be unique when the sexual offender is someone close to the victim. It was found that known offenders often engage in “submissive” offending, utilizing “cooperative interactions”. There can be more emotional effects and less physical effects in this case comparative to the sexual assault by unknown offender. Factors such as self-blame, perpetrator blame may be seen with known offender.